 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with Abrahamic faiths and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(December 2012) |
In some religions, an unclean animal is an animal whose consumption or handling is taboo. According to these religions, persons who handle such animals may need to ritually purify themselves to get rid of their uncleanliness.
In Judaism, the concept of "impure animals" plays a prominent role in the Kashrut, the part of Jewish law that specifies which foods are allowed ( kosher ) or forbidden to Jews. These laws are based upon the Books of Leviticus [1] and Deuteronomy [2] of the Torah and in the extensive body of rabbinical commentaries (the Talmud). [3] [4] [5]
The concept of unclean animals is also mentioned in the Book of Genesis, when Noah is instructed to bring into the Ark all sorts "of pure beasts, and of beasts that are impure, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth". [6]
In the Torah, some animals are explicitly named as pure or impure, while others are classified by anatomical characteristics or other criteria. In some cases, there is some doubt as to the precise meaning of the Biblical Hebrew animal name.
According to Jewish dietary laws, to be "pure" an animal must also be free from certain defects and must be slaughtered and cleaned according to specific regulations ( Shechita ).
Any product of an impure or improperly slaughtered animal is also non-kosher. Animal gelatin, for example, has been avoided, although recently kosher gelatin (from cows or from fish prepared according to kosher regulations) has become available.; [7] the status of shellac is controversial. The prohibitions also extend to certain parts of pure animals, such as blood, certain fat tissues, and the sciatic nerves.
Finally, it is forbidden to cook the meat of an animal in the milk or dairy product of that same animal, which has in turn led to the traditional practice of using separate complete sets of kitchen utensils for meat and dairy so as to totally ensure this rule is not broken. [8]
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The Torah does not classify animals under modern scientific categories such as mammals, fish, reptiles, birds, etc. Rather, the religious categories are land-dwelling animals (land mammals, flightless birds, and land reptiles, etc.), flying animals (birds, insects, flying mammals such as bats), and given that each of these religious categories of animals includes species of at least two or more of each scientific categories of animals, there is no general kashrut rules relating per se to mammals, birds, reptiles, or fish. However, rules for each of these classes of animals can be extrapolated from the biblical requirements.
According to the Torah, land-dwelling animals that both chew the cud (ruminate) and have cloven hooves, are kosher. [9]
By these requirements, any land-dwelling animal that is kosher can only possibly be a mammal, but even then, permitted are only those mammals that are placentals and strictly herbivorous (not omnivores nor carnivores) that both ruminate and also have cloven hooves, such as bovines (cattle/cows, bison, buffalos, yak, etc.), sheep, goats, deer, antelope, and giraffes; there is no tradition for the consumption of giraffe by any Jewish community.
All other mammals, land-dwelling or otherwise, are forbidden by the Torah, including "crawling creatures" such as mice, [10] and flying mammals such as the various species of bats. [11]
Also forbidden are water-bound mammals, such as whales, dolphins, seals, and dugongs, as they do not have the characteristics required of water-bound creatures to be kosher; the creature must possess both fins and scales to be kosher.
Land-dwelling mammals possessing only one of the two characteristics of kosher land-dwellers, such as the camel [12] who ruminates but has no cloven hooves or the pig who possesses cloven hooves but does not ruminate, are not kosher. These two animals are cited explicitly.
Given these conditions, there is no kosher land-dwelling non-mammal.
According to Leviticus 11:9–10, anything that comes from the water ("in the seas, and in the rivers") that has both fin and scales may be eaten. By these requirements, fish are the only possible kosher water-dwelling creatures. Because all creatures possessing both fins and scales also possess an endoskeleton and gills, any creature possessing lung or an exoskeleton is not kosher.
As every fish possessing scales also possesses fins, any water-dwelling creature possessing scales is kosher. [13]
The Torah names only a few birds that may not be eaten; those not in the list are presumed to be kosher. However, the precise identity of the unclean birds is a matter of contention in traditional Jewish texts. It is therefore common to eat only birds with a clear masorah (tradition) of being kosher in at least one Jewish community, such as domestic fowl.
Leviticus 11 lists the non-kosher flying creatures. [14] The Hebrew names listed have been translated[ by whom? ] as follows:
Leviticus 11:20–23 details which insects are not to be eaten, [15] though all insects are considered impure to avoid mistaken consumption. [16]
An exception is made for certain locusts ( Schistocerca gregaria ), which are traditionally considered kosher by some Yemenite Jewish communities.
Bees' honey is considered kosher [17] [18] as the honey is not made of bees.
The following animals are considered to be impure according to Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, based on Rashi's identification:
Some scholars have conjectured that the Jewish concept of "unclean animals" arose out of public health concerns by community leaders, since, in the conditions of the times, some of those animals were indeed more likely to cause food poisoning or transmit diseases to people who consumed them. [20]
British anthropologist Mary Douglas proposed that the "unclean" label had philosophical grounds, namely it was cast on foods that did not seem to fall neatly into any symbolic category. The pig, for example, was seen as an "ambiguous" creature, because it has cloven hooves like cattle, but does not chew cud. [21]
In the very early days of Christianity it was debated if converts ought to follow Jewish customs (including circumcision and dietary laws) or not. According to the account of the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, a compromise was reached between those who wanted full compliance and those who favored a more liberal view. It was agreed that the converted Gentiles would have to bear "no greater burden than these necessary things: You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things". [22]
While the majority of Christians agree that the dietary restrictions of the Old Testament were lifted with Christ's New Covenant, a view known as supersessionism, there are Torah Observant Christians [23] who believe that they should still be observed.
Some, like the Seventh-day Adventists, argue that the liberal view would imply the acceptance even of alcohol, tobacco, rats and roaches as "clean food"; [24] and that God never declares something an abomination and then changes his mind. [25]
Supporters of the stricter view have also disputed the interpretation[ citation needed ] of Peter's vision Acts 10:5–10, claiming that God was merely instructing him not to refer to Gentiles as "unclean" since salvation had been extended to them. This is expressly stated by Peter later in the chapter at Acts 10:28 ("but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.") In Acts 10:14 Peter makes a distinction between "common" (Greek: κοινόν, koinón) and "unclean" (Greek: ακάθαρτον, akátharton) to which God replies in the next verse "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common [Greek: κοίνου, koínou]".
One modern example of a Torah-submissive group is the Seventh-day Adventist Church, whose co-founder Ellen G. White was a proponent of vegetarianism. Many Seventh-day Adventists avoid meat for health reasons, although vegetarianism is not a requirement. Members of the United Church of God as well as other Sabbath-keeping Churches also believe in not consuming the meat from unclean animals. [26]
Adventists are known for presenting a "health message" that advocates vegetarianism and expects adherence to the kosher laws, [27] particularly the consumption of kosher foods described in Leviticus 11, meaning abstinence from pork, shellfish, and other animals proscribed as "unclean".
Members of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo churches generally abstain from pork and other unclean meats, however this is merely a cultural practice with no formal canons on the church prohibiting the consumption of unclean meats. [28]
In Islam several animals are considered unclean and their consumption is sinful ( harām ), except in case of necessity; while others are permitted ( halāl ), as long as they are slaughtered in the proper manner and with blessings given to God.
The Quran expressly forbids consumption of "the flesh of swine" [29] There are no other "impure animals" explicitly named in the Qur'an. If someone converts to Islam, Allah "allows them as lawful what is good and prohibits them from what is bad; he releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that were upon them". [30]
For other animals, great importance is given to the manner of its death: forbidden are blood and carrion ("dead meat"), and any animal that has been "killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death". [29] Also forbidden is any animal that has been eaten by a wild animal, unless the person is able to slaughter it before it dies. [29]
Finally, the Qur'an forbids food which has been invoked by a name other than Allah, which has been sacrificed on stone altars, or has been subjected to the pagan practice of raffling with arrows. [29] Food slaughtered by an idolater is forbidden, but food that is acceptable to Jews and Christians is allowed to Muslims as well. [31]
According to the majority of Sunni scholars, dogs can be owned by farmers, hunters, and shepherds for the purpose of hunting and guarding and the Qur'an states that it is permissible to eat what trained dogs catch. [32] Among the Bedouin, the saluki dogs are cherished as companions and allowed in the tents.
Kashrut is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the term that in Sephardi or Modern Hebrew is pronounced kashér, meaning "fit". Food that may not be consumed, however, is deemed treif, also spelled treyf. In case of objects the opposite of kosher is pasúl.
Islamic dietary laws are laws that Muslims follow in their diet. Islamic jurisprudence specifies which foods are halal and which are haram. The dietary laws are found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, as well as in collections of traditions attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
In Judaism, shechita is ritual slaughtering of certain mammals and birds for food according to kashrut. One who practices this, a kosher butcher is called a shochet.
Kosher foods are foods that conform to the Jewish dietary regulations of kashrut. The laws of kashrut apply to food derived from living creatures and kosher foods are restricted to certain types of mammals, birds and fish meeting specific criteria; the flesh of any animals that do not meet these criteria is forbidden by the dietary laws. Furthermore, kosher mammals and birds must be slaughtered according to a process known as shechita and their blood may never be consumed and must be removed from the meat by a process of salting and soaking in water for the meat to be permissible for use. All plant-based products, including fruits, vegetables, grains, herbs and spices, are intrinsically kosher, although certain produce grown in the Land of Israel is subjected to other requirements, such as tithing, before it may be consumed.
Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious, cultural, legal or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos. Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the meat of a particular animal, including mammals, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, fish, molluscs, crustaceans and insects, which may relate to a disgust response being more often associated with meats than plant-based foods. Some prohibitions are specific to a particular part or excretion of an animal, while others forgo the consumption of plants or fungi.
The practice of vegetarianism is strongly linked with a number of religious traditions worldwide. These include religions that originated in India, such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. With close to 85% of India's billion-plus population practicing these religions, India remains the country with the highest number of vegetarians in the world.
A cloven hoof, cleft hoof, divided hoof, or split hoof is a hoof split into two toes. Members of the mammalian order Artiodactyla that possess this type of hoof include cattle, deer, pigs, antelopes, gazelles, goats, and sheep.
Pork is a food taboo among several religions, including Jews, Muslims, and some Christian denominations. Swine were prohibited in ancient Syria and Phoenicia, and the pig and its flesh represented a taboo observed, Strabo noted, at Comana in Pontus. A lost poem of Hermesianax, reported centuries later by the traveller Pausanias, reported an etiological myth of Attis destroyed by a supernatural boar to account for the fact that "in consequence of these events the Galatians who inhabit Pessinous do not touch pork". In Abrahamic religions, eating pig flesh is clearly forbidden by Jewish (kashrut), Islamic (halal) and Christian Adventist dietary laws.
Shemini, Sh'mini, or Shmini is the 26th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the third in the Book of Leviticus. Parashah Shemini tells of the consecration of the Tabernacle, the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, and the dietary laws of kashrut. The parashah constitutes Leviticus 9:1–11:47. It is made up of 4,670 Hebrew letters, 1,238 Hebrew words, 91 verses, and 157 lines in a Torah Scroll.
In Islamic law, dhabihah, also spelled zabiha, is the prescribed method of slaughter for halal animals. It consists of a swift, deep incision to the throat with a very sharp knife, cutting the wind pipe, jugular veins and carotid arteries on both sides but leaving the spinal cord intact. The butcher is also required to call upon the name of Allah individually for each animal.
The Islamic dietary laws (halal) and the Jewish dietary laws are both quite detailed, and contain both points of similarity and discord. Both are the dietary laws and described in distinct religious texts: an explanation of the Islamic code of law found in the Quran and Sunnah and the Jewish code of laws found in the Torah, Talmud and Shulchan Aruch.
Re'eh, Reeh, R'eih, or Ree is the 47th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the Book of Deuteronomy. It comprises Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17. In the parashah, Moses set before the Israelites the choice between blessings and curses. Moses instructed the Israelites in laws that they were to observe, including the law of a single centralized place of worship. Moses warned against following other gods and their prophets and set forth the laws of kashrut, tithes, the Sabbatical year, the Hebrew slave redemption, firstborn animals, and the Three Pilgrimage Festivals.
In Jewish religious law, there is a category of specific Jewish purity laws, defining what is ritually impure or pure: ṭum'ah and ṭaharah are the state of being ritually "impure" and "pure", respectively. The Hebrew noun ṭum'ah, meaning "impurity", describes a state of ritual impurity. A person or object which contracts ṭum'ah is said to be ṭamé, and thereby unsuited for certain holy activities and uses until undergoing predefined purification actions that usually include the elapse of a specified time-period.
Kosher animals are animals that comply with the regulations of kashrut and are considered kosher foods. These dietary laws ultimately derive from various passages in the Torah with various modifications, additions and clarifications added to these rules by halakha. Various other animal-related rules are contained in the 613 commandments.
The mixture of meat and dairy is forbidden according to Jewish law. This dietary law, basic to kashrut, is based on two verses in the Book of Exodus, which forbid "boiling a (goat) kid in its mother's milk" and a third repetition of this prohibition in Deuteronomy.
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig. It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pescetarianism is a dietary practice in which seafood is the only source of meat in an otherwise vegetarian diet. The inclusion of other animal products, such as eggs and dairy, is optional. According to research conducted from 2017 to 2018, approximately 3% of adults worldwide are pescetarian.
According to the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 10, Saint Peter had a vision of a vessel full of animals being lowered from heaven. A voice from heaven told Peter to kill and eat, but since the vessel contained unclean animals, Peter declined. The command was repeated two more times, along with the voice saying, "What God hath made clean, that call not thou common" and then the vessel was taken back to heaven.
Jewish vegetarianism is a commitment to vegetarianism that is connected to Judaism, Jewish ethics or Jewish identity. Jewish vegetarians often cite Jewish principles regarding animal welfare, environmental ethics, moral character, and health as reasons for adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Christian dietary laws vary between denominations. The general dietary restrictions specified for Christians in the New Testament are to "abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals". Some Christian denominations forbid certain foods during periods of fasting, which in some cases may cover half the year and may exclude meat, fish, dairy products, and olive oil.
As for the dietary rules of the Ethiopian Church during the fasting and non-fasting seasons, they are not wrong, and neither are we. It is a matter of tradition rather than doctrine. For this purpose, we do not interfere nor rebuke their decision regarding this matter of dietary rules.
